{"id":101483,"date":"2025-10-24T12:51:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T12:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/101483\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T12:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T12:51:10","slug":"tom-marren-on-his-renewables-business-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/101483\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Marren on his renewables business \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Business is booming for Astatine <\/a>boss Tom Marren. Over a two-year span, the Dublin native expects his company\u2019s revenues to increase tenfold, buoyed by a big new partnership with Aviva.<\/p>\n

He has come prepared for our interview with a PowerPoint <\/a>presentation, and after spending the first 20 minutes trying to figure out where we know each other from, I ask him where the name for his company comes from. <\/p>\n

\u201cAstatine. It is the rarest, naturally occurring element in the world,\u201d Marren says, his engineering background shining through. \u201cWhen we started the business<\/a>, the marketing people hated it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes, people don\u2019t know how to pronounce the name of the business, he laughs. <\/p>\n

\u201cRemember when Google <\/a>first came out? You probably don\u2019t,\u201d he laughs. \u201cWell, when Google came out we all asked what a Google was! But now, it is a brand. It\u2019s the same with Astatine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wishful thinking, perhaps, but time will tell. <\/p>\n

Astatine is an \u201cenergy infrastructure solutions\u201d company, they don\u2019t just specialise in a single portion of the energy cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than a client going out and getting a solar guy, getting a battery guy, getting a heat pump guy, getting a truck guy, you name it,\u201d says Marren; that Astatine \u201cjust do everything\u201d.<\/p>\n

He says it gives them a significant advantage in price competitiveness, as the company handles everything from securing the planning permission for renewable energy infrastructure projects down to the delivery and operation of these assets.<\/p>\n

Astatine has been involved in funding renewable energy projects for several years, aiming to drive the adoption of carbon-efficient energy sources. \u201cAnd this is where the joint venture with Aviva is coming in,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

One year ago, the company sought a funding partner that could provide the backing necessary to scale its operations significantly. After bouncing the idea off several big investors, they tied the knot with Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the platform going to be called? That\u2019s still in the works, but Marren isn\u2019t stressed. \u201cTo be honest, I don\u2019t know yet, but we\u2019ll figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Are plug-in hybrids just as polluting as petrol cars?<\/p>\n

Astatine will be the minority partner in the deal, and handle the delivery of renewable projects in Ireland, the UK and other parts of Europe. It is targeting some of the highest-use sectors, such as data centres, the dairy industry, cement manufacturers and pharmaceuticals. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are really keen on the food and beverages sector \u2013 that\u2019s huge in Ireland. Dairy is also a huge sector for us,\u201d Marren says.<\/p>\n

A recent project with dairy co-operative Arrabawn is \u201cvery typical of the projects\u201d that will be funded under the partnership with Aviva. Astatine built a 5.6 megawatt solar farm beside the co-ops processing plant in Nenagh, Co Tipperary. The 12,815 panel project is reducing its draw on the grid by 15 per cent with no upfront capital investment from the co-operative.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe own that site. We will sell the power back to Arrabawn over a number of years and then we will hand it back,\u201d he says, \u201cIt is a no-brainer. The whole site will be paid for, and they will have [the asset] as well as the ongoing energy reductions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astatine also sees significant room for growth in helping data centres to reduce their reliance on the grid and on carbon-emitting energy sources.<\/p>\n

\u201cData centres need to deliver large [amounts of energy] and the great thing about Ireland, we\u2019re unbelievably positioned to deliver huge amounts of renewable energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says the west of Ireland has a unique opportunity to harbour carbon-efficient data centres: \u201cWe can deliver 85 per cent green power into a data centre competitively, because we have got one of the most competitive renewable resources in Europe on the west coast of Ireland because of our wind speeds,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Marren believes that the next few years in Ireland will be critical for the development of carbon-efficient infrastructure. \u201cI\u2019m always on about urgency,\u201d he says, which is one of the company\u2019s core values. \u201cWe need to be more competitive in Europe.\u201d <\/p>\n

In driving adoption of renewable energy and energy efficient practices, Marren says the most important thing is to make the choice economical for businesses.<\/p>\n

Astatine is trialling the use of electric trucks for a big Irish company at a cost reduction of 10 to 15 per cent, with carbon reductions of about 90 per cent. It\u2019s a \u201cwin-win\u201d from both a climate and financial perspective, which he believes is key.<\/p>\n

He runs through a long list of projects the group has delivered, including for Jameson owner Pernod Ricard, farmer-owned dairy co-operative Dale Farm, and French utilities company Engie \u2013 each time listing impressive figures for carbon emission and cost savings.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it is economical, and this is where we need to be,\u201d he emphasises. \u201cEveryone has this mindset that reducing carbon emissions costs money, but it is actually the opposite \u2013 these are extremely good paybacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnergy efficiency is an area that Europe needs to focus on, and Ireland needs to focus on,\u201d Marren says. \u201cEveryone wants to build something new, but really, efficiency is number one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says the market is strong in Ireland for carbon reduction projects, which has fuelled the company\u2019s rapid growth since it was founded in 2020. Last year, the company posted \u20ac22 million in revenues. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis year it will probably be \u20ac70 million, and next year we are expecting about \u20ac200 million,\u201d Marren says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done pretty well at staying out of the picture for the last while,\u201d says Marren of its low-media profile at the company offices in the Guinness Enterprise Centre.<\/p>\n

What drove the growth? \u201cPart of it is experience. We understood that we needed to build a good team. Part of it was having a certain reputation with clients anyway from previous businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astatine is built on the lessons that Marren has learned from founding seven other businesses. He holds an engineering degree from Trinity College Dublin and an MBA from UCD. <\/p>\n

After a short stint working with Mitsubishi after college, he set up Marren Engineering, which focused on air conditioning work and became a big contractor in that field. <\/p>\n

After a holiday to Australia, he set up Cogent Engineering, which sold heat and electricity. A \u201cmini utility company\u201d, it was acquired in 2007 by the largest utility company in Australia, Origin, for more than \u20ac27 million, he says. <\/p>\n

He went on to found CES Energy, which operated internationally, including doing work in the Middle East, on projects such as the King Abdullah Port. He sold the business to UK-based Centrica plc, which is also the owner of Bord G\u00e1is Energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t my first start-up, but it will be my last,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n

When it came to setting up Astatine, he \u201cknew the market was there\u201d, but timing was his enemy.<\/p>\n

The business began operating in 2020, just before the pandemic. \u201cCovid was a distraction to say the least \u2013 more than a distraction really \u2013 it cost us a lot of money. But ultimately, we knew that the market was there. We just had to keep our heads down and drive on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cwe\u201d is critical, he says, crediting much of the business\u2019s growth to his co-founder and current chief operating officer Pat Nolan, whom he first met at a previous business when Marren hired him as an intern. <\/p>\n

\u201cI brought him over to a big meeting in London, an important meeting, so he bought a new suit for the occasion. There we were, sitting in a meeting with 18 people, with people from Spain, the UK and the US as they introduced themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it came to Pat\u2019s turn, a proud lilywhite, he announced he was from \u201csouth Kildare\u201d, reasoning that north Kildare is \u201cjust Dublin\u201d. The two went on to form a close-knit team, and Astatine is an effort of \u201c70 hours of work a week\u201d by the duo for many years.<\/p>\n

Before the business took off, its first Christmas party comprised just two people, its founders, going to a pub together. After a few pints, they stumbled through the door of Pat\u2019s house and vowed to his partner that \u201csome day we would have 150 employees at our Christmas party\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year we will.\u201d<\/p>\n

CV:<\/p>\n

Name: Tom Marren<\/p>\n

Job: Astatine chief executive <\/p>\n

Age: 57<\/p>\n

Lives: Splits his time between Dublin and Dingle<\/p>\n

Family: Married to Liadain with seven children<\/p>\n

Hobbies: Keeps hens and bees in Dingle, and plays golf, albeit less often than he would like <\/p>\n

Something we might expect: He supports the move to renewable energy <\/p>\n

Something that might surprise: Going to the Antarctic in November. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to go. It\u2019s one of the last unspoilt areas in the world\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Business is booming for Astatine boss Tom Marren. Over a two-year span, the Dublin native expects his company\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6573,72,1711,61,60,3400,16389],"class_list":{"0":"post-101483","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-aviva","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-google","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-renewable-energy","14":"tag-renewables"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}